To be a perfect Rose
by Honeybeehere
Summary: Rose had been the Gryffindor beater for two years now, only this year was the one to change everything. Freshly sixteen she joins the Marauders and her friends to try and navigate through the pressures and challenges of everyday life. There is the added bonus of being on the very good side of most of the Marauders too.
1. Chapter 1

The summer had been a record breaker in terms of heat but now at the end of August it had cooled off some. It had really put a dampener on Rose Merrick as she half arsed packing to return to Hogwarts for her penultimate year in education. She had turned sixteen that summer, she was an August birthday, and was mourning the summer. Sure, she was excited to see her friends again but she wasn't looking forward to the distance, not being able to see her mother and sister every day wore on her, especially this year, her sister Victoria was now starting her first job at the ministry in the trade office. To go back to Hogwarts without the other girl was a wrench.

"You will just have to try harder with the other people in your year Rosie." Her sister said from the doorway to her room. It was a beautiful room with a classic style too it, even the four poster bed was selected to not shout at anything else in the room. It was full of delicately carved furniture and pretty patterns.

"I know that Tori but I don't want too, it's always hard enough when you are there, now you're not going to be." Rose pouted throwing her clothes onto her neatly made bed covered already in champagne coloured bedding and the contents of her winter and school wardrobe.

"We are going to Grandma Fawley's for tea; mum wants you packed by the time we get back." Victoria said with direction nodding to the mess her sister was creating.

Rose sighed out of her nose throwing her head back, her arms going limp by her sides as she stood in the double doors of her wardrobe.

"Fine, see you later." She said quietly. Victoria shut the door with a tight smile.

Rose struggled through packing her trunk by herself; her parents had directed their house elf Dinky not to help her as it was something that she needed to do by herself.

Finally as the sun was lowering in the late afternoon nearing evening she finished. All she had to do now was play records and wait for her family to return from her mother's, mother's house for dinner. It would be a while as Grandma Fawley as she was known to the Merrick house was a talker. That woman would pin you in the house with conversation until dark.

With a huff Rose picked herself up heavily from her bed, donned her white lace kimono that fell to her calves and wandered down the stairs in search of a book from the library.

"Oi James!" She heard as she reached the base of the stairs in the lobby.

Curious she looked towards the source of the sound, it appeared to be coming from the street out the front of the house, accompanied by a loud engine noise.

James may have responded but Rose didn't hear it because she opened the large black front door and the brass door knocker rattled on the wood.

The sight that greeted her was that of Black and Potter on and in a motorcycle and sidecar. It was blue, old looking and sounding very ill. James hopped out of the side car pulling off his goggles and helmet.

Curious Rose pulled the door to behind her and padded out down the circular gravel drive to the large garden gate to investigate. She just reached the open wrought iron gate when the bike gave a sad sounding cough and died.

"That doesn't sound good." Rose said startling the boys.

The boys gazes snapped to Rose simultaneously.

"Merrick?" They both chimed. Rose smiled,

"What are you doing here?" Sirius demanded almost rudely. Rose looked back at the house she had come out of, The Dowager House standing tall at four stories and beautiful with the wisteria covering half of the Georgian front face.

"I live here. Why are you here?" She asked in a gentler tone.

"Getting some last minute supplies for school. Pads thought the beast could make it." James lightly kicked the sidecar.

"Well I was clearly wrong wasn't I?" Sirius said frustrated pulling off his helmet and goggles.

"I know a guy, can you push it?" Rose said confidently, moving to open the gates and slip out.

"Won't people miss the princess Rosemary?" James mocked. Rose pulled a face at him sticking out her tongue.

"Actually no. They are at my Grandma Fawley's so they won't be back until after dark." Rose said primly stepping out into the silent road in front of the bike.

"Why? Is it contractual?" Sirius said sarcastically barking a laugh. Rose smirked,

"No, she's a talker." Rose said nodding for them to follow her. They did follow her to the garage three streets over and round a corner.

"You had a good summer then Merrick?" James asked politely.

Rose looked back and tipped her head from shoulder to shoulder pouting.

"It was alright, the garden party was way too hot and should _not_ have been held but other than that yes good, went to France again, which was nice. You two?" She replied, she turned back to where she was walking missing the look of communication between the two boys. James's asking, and Sirius debating then shrugging.

"Was great, I got a new family member." James said with a smirk,

Rose's head whipped round, her face the epitome of confusion.

"He means me. I got kicked out." Sirius said rolling his eyes. Rose could tell it was an act and that he wasn't strictly alright with the change in living circumstances, it was the way he flexed his grip on the handlebars.

"Right." Rose said nodding once. She pointed to the auto yard on the other side of the street halting all conversation then.

They followed her directions pushing the lumbering beast of a machine into the driveway of the garage.

"Rosie!" Came a cry from the handsome man in overalls wiping his hands on a dirty oil cloth. He emerged from the dark recesses of the mechanics shop. He had an oil smudge on his face and a beaming smile.

"Hiya David." Rose greeted kindly, a tired look flittered over her pretty roundish face that only Sirius seemed to catch.

He looked back at the young man coming towards them with suspicion. Some habits that he had grown up having ingrained into him died hard, instant suspicion of Muggles was one of them.

"I've not seen you all summer, where've you been?" David asked stopping just short of her with a form of familiarity that hinted at a shared past.

Rose stepped back a little,

"Not in the Rose and Crown." She smiled overly sweetly at him. David's beaming smile faltered a little and he took notice of the two others that she had with her.

"Hi." James waved a little awkwardly.

"My friend's bike has packed in, could you please take a look at it?" Rose asked sweetly.

David looked at James who was stood a little way off of the bike and then at Sirius who had perched himself on the black leather seat.

"Sure, on one condition." David said with a firmness that suggested that he wasn't going to back down.

"What is it?" Rose sighed pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You come down the pub before you go back to school." David said. Rose nodded,

"Just look at the bike David." She said tiredly, smiling tightly leaving the boys with the muggle man.

She could hear Sirius talking to the mechanic from where she stopped at the end of the large driveway.

"I'm sensing that you and 'David' don't exactly get on?" James said as he stopped next to her looking out on the large expanse of fields. Rose looked at the taller boy next to her; he had his hands in the pockets of his lightly flared jeans that he wore with a black Led Zeppelin t shirt and cord jacket. The low sun reflected off his glasses masking his concerned eyes.

"Not really. Being the only pureblood children in the village was difficult, David was a nice boy, he then asked me out and we did for a while but…"

"Those kinds of relationships never work." James finished nodding.

"Yeah." Rose agreed. An idea bloomed in James' head. Sirius had liked Rose for a while, he had only told James once but he knew his friend would help the girl out. He had also watched the same boy struggle to write Rose a single letter over the summer but he sent Lilly loads.

"Take Sirius to the pub with you tonight." James suggested bumping Rose's shoulder lightly with his arm.

"What?" Rose asked looking back at the boys by the bike. She pushed back a long lock of caramel hair that had fallen in front of her face.

"Davie never said you couldn't bring someone with you, just that you had to go. This way you won't be alone and Sirius can be here to pick his bike up first thing. I'll tell my folks where we are." James explained.

"Or you could send them a letter and both come with me?" Rose said brightly, James smiled,

"You really don't want to be left in that pub alone do you?" He chuckled.

"Nope, it's full of the people I went with to the village school." She laughed back.

Sirius looked up at the sound of her laugh. It was loud and not particularly melodious but he liked the sound of it. He pushed the glossy curls back on his head to see her better.  
David scoffed when he saw the look on Sirius' face.

"Forget it mate." David said confidently. Sirius looked at the blonde man; his face was long and very masculine. The bushy eyebrows with the heavy set brow and the wisps of a moustache it could only be described as unrefined masculinity. Sirius thought on his own aristocratic features and smiled to himself.

"Forget what?" He looked back to David now his eyebrow cocked.

"Princess Merrick doesn't sully her hands with the likes of us anymore." David explained as if he was talking to another muggle.

"Right."

"Got some boyfriend at her posh bloody school that she hates to leave." David looked up to Sirius' grey eyes then.

"You go to her school don't you?" He realised, regret written all over his face.

"Yes, I do. Tell me more about this guy she likes then." Sirius prompted with a smirk.

"Well apparently he has dark hair and is about the same height as her and is 'extremely handsome and he knows it' whatever that means, she said he makes her laugh." David shrugged bitterly looking over the bike again.

"Oh right. I've never seen her with anyone but I'll keep a look out." Sirius said conspiratorially.

"Alright." David said a wicked gleam in his eye, "Should be ready tomorrow lunch, about twelve."

Sirius stuck his hand out for David to shake and beamed a mischievous grin, "Fantastic, thanks."

Sirius collected the bag from the sidecar and headed over to the pair of his friends clapping James on the back.

"Alright?" James greeted him.

"Fantastic, should be ready tomorrow lunch apparently."

"Great because we are staying here tonight and going to the pub with Rosemary." James said confidently smiling. Sirius looked to the long haired girl and brightened.

"Brilliant. You should know I shattered his illusions about your school boyfriend by the way." Sirius admitted walking off into the road. James laughed and followed him.

"You what?!" Rose demanded hurrying after them.

"Like glass." Sirius said with mock sympathy.

Rose groaned.

"Why? Why would you do that?" She shoved the boys shoulder and he laughed again.

"Because the poor man was mooning over you bitterly." Sirius answered, "It was the right thing to do."

"No the right thing to do was to say nothing." Rose instructed guiding them back to the Dowager house.

A minute later they reached the gates,

"That was my excuse for not dating him; he's asked me about it loads." Rose protested. James and Sirius looked at each other and both mock gasped,

"Rosemary, that's lying. That's wrong." Sirius mockingly admonished.

"I am shocked, who has corrupted you so?" James said pressing his hand to his chest.

Rose let out a noise of frustration shoving James as he burst out laughing.

Together they walked up the gravel drive and into the house.

Sirius let out a low whistle.

"Well, well, well, you really are a princess Rosemary." James taunted a blushing Rose.

"No I am not Potter." Rose protested.

"I think the chandelier begs to differ Rosie." Sirius said raising his eyebrows at her pointing at the light fixture hanging over the staircase. Rose just rolled her eyes and walked through a door to the corridor to the kitchen.

"Dinky, we are having two more for dinner." Rose announced entering the stone floored kitchen,

"Friends of Miss Rosie?" Dinky squeaked, Rose smiled and nodded in response.

"Wizards." Rose said pre-empting the coming question. Dinky smiled and nodded running off to the stove.

"Oi Rose." Sirius called, Rose followed his voice back to the hall. She came back to see her family piling in through the door,

"Rose who are these boys currently filling my hall?" Her father asked. Victoria smiled at them while Rose's mother was looking Sirius over with blatant disapproval.

"They're friends from school Daddy, James Potter and Sirius Black, their bike broke down and they need to stay the night." Rose explained nervously. Ignatius Merrick was a large and intimidating looking man, a half blood that had excelled at Quidditch and gone on to work in the Sports department of the Ministry.

"Well, I don't know about a Black under my roof." Ignatius grumbled.

"I was kicked out by them too, don't worry about it, sir." Sirius said with a false positivity.

"Oh you're the one…" Raina Merrick realised setting a hand on her husband's arm. "You're more than welcome to stay." She assured.

Rose beamed at them,

"Have you informed Dinky? I won't have her being put out. Have you finished packing before your friends descended?"

Rose stood a little straighter,

"Yes, yes and yes Mummy." Raina nodded once and then headed off to the kitchen to inform Dinky again about the visitors.

Victoria headed off upstairs and Ignatius shifted awkwardly.

"Have you informed your parent's boy?" He asked James. James shook his head,

"Not yet, sir."

"I'll drop them a note." He turned and walked into his study, the room was the first door to the right of the front.

"That was as brief as my family meetings." Sirius muttered, while James rounded on Rose.

"Mummy and Daddy?" He said incredulously.

"Oh shut up." Rose snapped, "Come on, I'll show you where you're staying."

Rose led them up the decorative wooden staircase that ran up the middle of the hall and into a room next to hers with two single beds in it.

"I'm right next door; bathroom is the door one further on." Rose said.

"What time are we off to the pub? My mum gave us some muggle money for the London trip just in case we needed to catch a train." James said as he sat on one of the very squishy beds. Sirius throwing his whole body on to the bedding.

"Probably about eight or nine, the Rose and Crown is full of them then." Rose shrugged leaning on the door frame.

"How come you can get served? Isn't muggle legal age eighteen, that's what Dawley said and he's a muggle born, he'd know." Sirius asked.

"Lavenam's Rose and Crown has a really lax policy on age, the landlord is an old coot and as long as his pub is full of people in the evening he doesn't give a Niffler's penny."

"Oh right." James nodded running his hand through his hair messing it up further.

When they reached the pub at half nine after the family dinner had finished, it was full of people their age including David who cheered as they walked in.

"You came!" He pushed his way through the small gathering of people in the limited space of the pub to reach them. He had already had a few. "It's a good job too because I stayed later to finish it."

"Have you eaten David?" Rose frowned concerned. David shook his head,

"Liquid dinner." He proffered his half-drunk pint and laughed. Sirius smirked and breathed out a little laugh making eye contact with James who was wearing the same expression.

"Dinks, yeah?" Sirius clapped his hands together with a smile. Rose nodded,

"You know what I drink." She said dismissively, Sirius answered with a nod and looked at a confused James who shrugged,

"Whatever you're having." He said, Sirius nodded again and headed to the bar.

"Will he be okay with the money?" James whispered to Rose, she smiled and nodded gripping his arm and pulling him to the last remaining table.

"He'll be fine; I gave him a crash course at Christmas. He was curious and asked me and Lilly."

David followed them and pulled over another stool.

"So you go to Rosie's school?" He set down his pint his unfocused eyes locking on James, "Who's the guy she left me for? Do you know him?"

"Honestly David, don't." Rose sighed. She had thought something like this would happen. James' face lit up,

"Oh yeah, he's a great guy. Loyal as a dog." He said cheekily winking at Rose. She tried her hardest to supress a smirk but failed. James was messing with David.

Rose looked up to see Sirius grinning, he was taking it all in, the smell the chatter about 'Football' and the general muggleness of the place. He caught Rose's eye and winked at her, he grinned harder at the blush it brought to her cheeks.

Rose's eyes flickered to the open seat next to her and he nodded once in understanding. 'Do not leave me next to David.' Was what she had said with her eyes, and Sirius never one to leave a girl stranded and uncomfortable, understood what he had to do.

"That'll be one pound four." A wizened old man behind the bar said holding out his hand. Sirius looked at the money in his hand that Rose had given him before they entered and handed over a pound note and some of the copper coins that looked like Knuts. That seemed to satisfy the old man because he walked away down the bar to a local boy asking for another pint.

Sirius took the three classes in both hands and carefully walked over to the table, he did so while Rose held David's attention until he was almost upon them and took the seat next to Rose.

"One whiskey, ten years old." He handed Rose her tumbler, "One pint of beer, lager." He handed it to James who looked excited to be trying the new muggle drink, "and one for me. Cheers." He pressed his glass against Rose's with a smile and took a big gulp.

"Slow down." Rose hissed. Sirius pulled a face at the taste of the drink and after swallowing barked a laugh.

"Cheers for fixing my bike mate." Sirius said to David who tightly smiled and looked about the room. He spotted one of his friends and waved in acknowledgement.

"No bother mate." He dismissed taking another large drink of his pint. Then Rose saw an idea bloom in his head, it was like a light came on behind his eyes and she knew what it would be about.

"Say, you two go to school with our Rosie, maybe you could shed some light onto a mystery that the whole village has wondered about. The mystery about the Merrick Family."

"Don't know what you mean mate, Rosemary is as open as a book." James said confused leaning back onto the wall in his seat.

"Ah that's odd see, my dad's mate Billy, he married Rosie's aunt and then he just closed off." Sirius looked at Rose.

"Uncle Billy married my mother's sister, Aunt Phyllis who went to our school." Rose explained. Sirius nodded understanding.

"Yeah and he just stopped talking to everyone, moved off. Which is weird, you see, because when they were seeing each other he told my dad, right, that he would make them stay in Lavenam and go to the school with the local lads and take his surname. He gets married to the Merrick and suddenly he can't talk about the family no more and they move away and then I hear that little Johnny is going to the same school as Rose in September." David explained.

"That's up to Uncle Billy David." Rose insisted taking a sip of her amber drink.

"What I want to know though is why didn't he insist the kid have his name?" David pushed.

"That's weird actually." James agreed looking at Rose.

"It's a family thing, it's a part of the 'family constitution'" Rose began air quoting the words, "Once the marriage licence is signed then they become part of the Fawley bloodline, certain assurances are needed in order for the line to live on. Such as the party that didn't attend the school we go to not pass their name on. They are not allowed to talk about the _family activities_ to their _other_ friends."

"Ah right. I get it." Sirius said his voice deepening unexpectedly. James nodded as well.

"Well I don't. Something is up with your family and I know it." David accused Rose.

"Look David. I get that you are maybe still sore about me and you last year but it was a year ago, we've both changed since then." Rose said trying to placate the irate man.

Sirius inched his stool a little closer to Rose, watching the situation closely. He understood to greater depth now why she wanted both of them there to be at her side, it was like walking into a lion's den.

"Sure, you have all these new friends. You and Tori. Even that garden party that nobody is invited to, why would you want to slum it with us plebs?" David grumbled.

"I think one of your friends is trying to get your attention Davie mate." James said quickly pointing to the young man at the end of the bar looking over constantly.

David just stood abruptly and swaying slightly walked across the bar.

Rose rested her head on Sirius' shoulder as James burst out laughing.

"Muggles mate, you can't write this stuff." He laughed, Sirius joining and then Rose who rubbed her right hand on her face and groaned.

"I can see why you didn't want to come alone Rosemary." Sirius chuckled. "The beers good though."

"Yeah, since Uncle Billy divorced Aunt Phyllis there has been disquiet. He signed the licence in full knowledge of what would happen to him if he tried to divorce her. The contract clearly states that the muggle party will present with memory like issues." Rose said explaining what to her was a fair deal.

"What does it actually say in regards to them though?" James asked sipping his beer.

"Specifically, if they are not of magical ability or blood they will have to sign an enchanted contract that if voided will mean that they are to have the memories of magic removed. They are to surrender their name and fortune to the family and that they are not to talk of magic to any muggles, it's impossible for them to after they have signed, they can talk of the family but the words that come out are muggle filtered." Rose explained in between sips of her drink.

"That's recommended by the ministry actually mate." Sirius nodded to James, he had relaxed in his seat too, his arm over the back of Rose's chair.

"It keeps the family safe." Rose shrugged.

"But your Uncle divorced your Aunt?" Sirius prompted. Rose nodded,

"Billy hated not being able to talk to anyone about us, he hated just being with us towards the end, even little Johnny when he presented traits." Rose said, "So he filed for divorce and my Dad struck his name from the contract, Uncle Billy then became Billy who had been hit in the head and gotten partial amnesia, it was a bit strong actually, he forgets who he is sometimes."

"Merlin's beard." James muttered,

"Well he did hit Johnny too at times to try and stop him from presenting magic and then my Aunt found out and that was the last straw, kicked him out that night." Rose said, the boys frowned, suddenly understanding the extremes that had been taken.

A quiet moment passed as the three took in the atmosphere of the pub. This was shattered by a loud squeal.

"Rose!" A blonde girl exclaimed in her too loud and too high voice.

"Ah fuck. Here we go." Rose muttered. She pushed a tight smile onto her face. Debbie White was weaving her way from the door to the table, her face fully painted with makeup, her eyelids bright colours, her hair a mess of carefully placed pin curls, her top a light halter and her skirt falling to just mid-thigh all of that with white plastic platform calf boots made her look as muggle as can be.

"Bloody Nora." Sirius slipped.

Debbie reached the table taking David's vacant seat and leant over,

"Hiya Rosie, not seen you in ages! Who are these two handsome fellas you've got with you?" Debbie asked,

"This is James, and this is Sirius." She introduced them. "They go to my school."

"Debbie." She said smiling in what she thought was an alluring way.

"Oooo, the mysterious school in Scotland." Debbie said tying to be charming.

"It's not that mysterious." Sirius said suppressing a burp.

"Well either way, I bet it's better than anything round here."

Sirius jumped banging into the table. His widened eyes shot to Rose.

Debbie had run her manicured hand up his leg rather higher than he was comfortable and it was a bit of a shock.

"What is it you do?" James asked politely. They had begun to drink a little quicker and James was half way through his pint. They had been there for just under an hour.

"Oh I'm up at the factory, secretary office." Debbie waved her hand as if dismissing the comment.

"So where are you two from?" She asked the boys ignoring James and Rose, her gaze caught by Sirius.

"Well, I'm from London but James is from the West Country." Sirius said trying to divert the attention away from him.

Rose rested her head on Sirius' shoulder gently and smiled tightly at Debbie.

"That's interesting. Where abouts in London?" Debbie pushed not getting the message. Sirius let his right hand fall forward over Rose's shoulder.

"Islington." Sirius said shortly.

"My village is actually similar to this place." James offered, again he was ignored and Rose could see it was starting to get to him.

"That's nice, specks." Debbie said with a fake smile. "London is far more interesting than a little village in the west country."

"Don't take offence James, it's not like Debbie even knows where that is. In fact, it's a wonder that Debbie got here, who drove you this time? Was it the guy that's married or is it the other one?" Rose snapped finally reaching her limit with the older girl.

Sirius smirked down at Rose; this was a side he had never seen from her before. At school and with them she was as nice as pie, even to the Slytherins calling her a blood traitor. Butter wouldn't melt with that Rose but now, now she was showing her thorns fully.

"At least I don't act like a stuck up bitch." Debbie snapped back, "You and that sister of yours, _Tori_." She sneered.

"Now that's a bit strong." James tried to say.

"Debbie, you look ridiculous, and a bit trampy." Rose said with a sympathetic smile that everyone knew was fake.

"You'd know all about trampy leading David on all this time." Debbie hissed. Rose leant forward then,

"You want him, go ahead. That violent dick has been mooning after me for years, while I was only ever nice to him. I never led him on Debbie. If you go now he should just be drunk enough not to laugh in your face." Rose said bitterly pointing to the blonde man at the other side of the room leaning on his friend.

Debbie got up from the small table, her eyes shining with furry.

"One of these days _Rosie_ you're going to find someone who's as cutting as you are, I hope to God I am there to see it. You could do with being taken down a peg or two." With that she flounced off to the other side of the bar and hung off David.

Sirius looked at his two inches of pint left and took a bigger mouthful while letting go of Rose.

"I'm sorry that I forced you two into this." Rose said finishing her drink. James laughed,

"No, it's alright. Where else would you get a bitter man and mild cat fight all in one place?"

"A Quidditch pitch?" Sirius mused; James nodded considering the point,

"The cauldron shop." James countered,

"The train station." Sirius shot back,

"The Leaky Cauldron." James offered,

"The ministry?" Sirius asked with a grin. Rose began to smile at their banter and breathed a laugh.

"Quality Quidditch supplies." She said quietly,

"There you go see, nothing to worry about. We won't even send a written account of this to Moony." James said laughingly.

They finished their drinks and stood as one shuffling out of the pub.

They can't have taken more than ten steps from the door when it opened again. David ran out into the road stumbling slightly his head whipping about finally seeing the three walking off down the road teasing Rose to make her giggle.

"Oi!" He called out angrily.

James looked back but they kept walking.

"Oi Rosie!" He shouted again.

"This guy just does not give up, does he?" Sirius asked Rose incredulously laughing.

"What do you want mate?" Sirius shouted back.

"Rosie. You're not coming back are you?" He called again. Sirius slung his arm around the girl's shoulders,

"Nah mate, think she prefers us." He laughed, tickling her waist.

Rose shoved his arm off her shoulders giggling. They left a red-faced David in the road and walked off to the large gates. The childish larks continued up to the gate, James barked, Sirius laughed and did a wolf call. Rose just laughed at their antics, not fully understanding the inside reference just guiding them inside the building.


	2. Chapter 2

They collected the bike without Rose the next morning from a very hungover looking David who handed them back the keys. They drove it back to the Merrick house and with a brief goodbye to Rose they took off back to James' house.

Rose didn't see them again until the first of September as they were getting on the train.

"Rosemary!"

Rose looked round and saw James waving madly at her from where he stood with his parents and Sirius.

She followed Sirius' gaze to his family, they stood cold and proud with their younger son a way off down past the Potters.

Rose waved back to James with a smile,

"Take care this term, love; let us know if you need anything." Her mum said kindly,

"We will be sending the first care package on the fourteenth." Her dad said adjusting his robes.

"Write to me." Victoria said sadly hugging her little sister.

Rose got on the train and quickly found her friends. Lilly Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Diana Jefferies and Mary MacDonald.

They talked about their summers and the people that they surprisingly missed.

"I had a visit from Potter and Black." Rose said quietly.

The compartment went quiet.

"You did?" Lilly asked her voice showing a little hurt.

"Yeah, Black got a bike and it broke down in my village, they stayed the night as it was fixed."

"Oh god. Not by Creepy Davie?" Marlene asked with a grimace.

"Yeah, by David, on the condition that I go to the pub."

"Christ." Lilly swore. Rose had previously told them all about the unease that she had around David, dubbed 'Creepy Davie' from then on. As well as the various horror stories from the pub that she had been dragged to repeatedly by her sister and then by her 'friends'.

"I asked James and he volunteered them both to come with me, he didn't leave my side the whole time. It was quite sweet actually."

"What else happened? We all know something else happened Rosemary, there is no getting out of telling us this." Mary said succinctly.

"Well Sirius got hit on by Debbie." Rose said pulling a 'yeah that happened face' her jaw dropping without her lips parting and her eyes widening.

Diana burst out laughing, and soon they all followed,

"I would have paid money to see that!" Lilly said, "That girl was horrendous to me at your party last year. I wish I could have seen you dig into the cow."

Rose blushed and pushed her hair back from her face falling back on the prim training she had received growing up.

"Yes well." Rose said primly sparking a chorus of laughter.

"Ugh I've got to go and be a prefect now." Lilly pouted heaving herself up from her seat.

"Yeah, go on with you." Marlene giggled slapping Lilly's arse as she shimfed by.

"Oi!" The redhead exclaimed and aimed a hit back at Marlene who just scooted away laughing.

Lilly walked into the corridor of the train letting the door rattle shut behind her.

The rest of the journey passed slowly with the girls just chatting about their summers and the drawbacks of living with their now increasingly backward parents. Rose kept quiet at this because her parents were still quite up to date with the trends of the day and open minded to the theories being discussed.

When the train stopped at Hogsmede station and the girls got off and headed towards the carriages. Rose didn't tell anyone but she could see the big black Thestrals that pulled the carriages.

"Oi Rosemary!" Potter shouted from somewhere behind her, Rose turned to see the Marauders as they called themselves hurrying along the platform towards them.

Rose waved to them the action catching her red haired friend's eye.

Lilly made a sound of disgust,

"Come on; let's get a carriage before they get here." She grabbed at Rose's arm and pulled her towards the line of coaches by the station.

"I still don't understand why they started to call you Rosemary by the way." Lilly grumbled as she slammed the door shut.

Rose shrugged and pushed her hair back,

"I think Peter misheard my name once years ago and it stuck."

"Rose Merrick sounds nothing like Rosemary." Diana said frowning. Marlene barked a laugh,

"It does if you say it in a stupid voice as if you're taking the piss." Her soft Scottish accent coming through.

Rose smiled relaxing into the seat. It lurched forward suddenly throwing Rose forward; she let out a rather embarrassing yelp sparking another round of laughter.

Sirius eyed the line of first years at the other end of the hall,

"I hope they don't have any more hatstalls this year."

"Ugh, same." Remus groaned, "It was bad enough with Peter but that Harding boy last year was damn near painful." He was slumped over the table with his right fist supporting his head at his temple.

"I just wish they could get on with it already." James grumbled looking wistfully at the gleaming empty platters in front of him.

"Well _I_ want to hear more about your adventure to Merrick's house. Was it horrid? Was there lace everywhere?" Peter squeaked. Sirius rolled his eyes and leant back looking down the table. He spotted Rose not too far off down the table and smirked, she was laughing with Marlene and Diana while Lilly turned red.

"Relax Wormtail it was fine, local mechanic fixed the bike and we were off straight away." James said in a bored voice. Remus caught his eye from where he sat next to Peter and raised an eyebrow, his green eyes flickered to Sirius and James smirked.

"Although Padfoot had a nicer time than me I think." James said alluding to something more. Sirius hadn't heard him and didn't have a chance to reply before McGonagall marched out and set up the hat and stool.

The hall fell silent in anticipation of the Hat's song.

 _Long ago when first I was enchanted_

 _To divide you all in four,_

 _I heard a warning once incanted,_

 _By a voice of calm assurance,_

 _Should the houses pull apart the seams will fray and burst,_

 _All hopes at endurance,_

 _Of the legacy of the first,_

 _May seem surely lost._

 _So in these times of great divergence_

 _Pull together despite the cost._

A pause followed the final note before Dumbledore stood and politely applauded.

"Well that was pointed." Remus said quietly.

The boys nodded in agreement.

Thankfully for the older students the feat was prompt as the first years were sorted quickly. Little John Fawley being sorted into Ravenclaw house, he seemed to be happy about that but still kept looking for his elder cousin.

"I'm thinking, James, that we ditch Moony with Lilly and try to catch up with Rose and Marlene. What do you recon?" Peter just watched the interaction with rapt attention as Remus smirked tiredly next to him,

"Sounds like a plan Pads, you sure you're up for that?" James mocked, "You don't usually do those."

"You're not getting all serious on us are you?" Remus asked,

Sirius curled his lip at Remus making a stupid noise back at him in reply to his bad joke.

"Don't take it personally Moony, he's been horrendous all summer. 'But she's just brilliant Prongs, you wouldn't understand.'" James teased.

Remus laughed at Sirius blushing,

"Oh right like you've not got a crush on anyone? A certain flower perhaps?" Sirius prodded back. James got very quiet very fast.

"Yeah, I thought so." Sirius grumbled. They were all tired, and thankfully the feast was near its end, they were all ready to go to bed. Things had changed however after the incident with Severus and the Whomping Willow last year.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief when Dumbledore stood before the golden podium. It had been an awfully long day.

"Welcome to all our new faces, and welcome back to all our old faces, it is good to see you all back with us of another year of education and learning, now more than ever it is needed to know as much as you can. But what is learning without rest to absorb it. So, off to bed." He announced swiftly followed by a clattering of feet and scraping of benches.

Rose stood lazily with Marlene, Diana and Mary. Lilly had run off to corral the first years and lead them to the common room.

"Thank god that's over." Sirius said slightly startling Rose at his sudden proximity. "Cor fortium is the password if you were wondering."

"Thanks, I wasn't." Rose said flatly. "What do you want?" She asked as they shuffled out of the hall onto the main staircase.

"Peter take Diana, Marlene and Mary to the common room would you? We'll meet you there." James directed.

Marlene rolled her eyes and linked her arms with Diana and Mary,

"We can find our own way there thanks, big bad witches we." She said tartly pulling the other girls forward with Peter trailing behind them under James' order looking distinctly displeased.

Rose was a little concerned now but followed Sirius down a quiet corridor with James following behind her. When they had guided her behind a large tapestry into a secret corridor they stopped. Sirius looked a little like he wanted to be anywhere else but here and James looked guilty.

"What's going on?" Rose demanded.

"Well…" James began carefully.

"The truth, unabridged." Rose snapped.

"I went back home to pick up some stuff for school, books and that, and my mother came home."

"Show her." James said with a lifting gesture, his jaw tightening with displeasure.

Sirius lifted his shirt and jumper. A huge black bruise overlaid his ribs and abs.

"Fuckin' hell!" Rose exclaimed, her well-spoken voice adding a new edge to the expletive.

"Hurts like the devil too." Sirius winced.

"What did the cow do to you?" Rose demanded.

"It is acting like _Cicatrix_ would." James reasoned. Rose nodded and gently ran her fingers over the affected skin. She was so engrossed in looking over the damage that she missed Sirius take a big lung full of air taking in as much of her scent as he could.

"Yes I think you may be right James. I'll see what I can do." She pulled her wand from her robe pocket inching closer to the slightly taller boy.

"Sana livore." She whispered. The darkness of the mark lessened but it didn't fully disappear.

"How's the pain?" Rose asked seeking assurance that her new charge was fine. Sirius nodded encouragingly.

"Okay, I've got a spell for the pain and then I think after that you'll need some of my bruise salve."

"My mum already put some salve on him, it just made it darker." James said worriedly. Rose smiled at Sirius who looked a little worried now.

"Well that's because she wasn't using the Merrick family recipe, its powerful stuff. Top secret." She winked at Sirius. He smirked and lowered his top slightly,

Rose caught his hand and pulled it back up levelling her wand threateningly.

"Finem doloris." She said tapping the dark mark sharply. Sirius gasped as if he had been winded.

"What did you do?" James demanded. Sirius took a deep breath waving him off.

"It's fine." He blinked rapidly. After a tense moment he straightened and lowered his top. "Thanks Rosemary." He smiled at her.

"No problem." Rose shrugged primly. James ran his hand through his already messy hair and sighed.

"Could we press you for another favour?" He asked guiltily.

"Please don't go shouting it that I'm living with James now. It's nobody else's business." Sirius said seriously.

Rose shrugged,

"Sure, it's your news anyway." Both boys seemed to relax,

"It's not like it's a secret but…"

"It's still not a nice thing to spread about, I get it. Besides the way I see it, I owe you two for the pub incident over the summer." Rose smiled. James smiled back,

"Yeah, I suppose you do." He reasoned with a laugh, "Should have given Debbie your picture Pads, she'd never have left you alone then."

"Could you imagine? 'Look mother, a trashy muggle is your first born son's wife.' She'd really do me in then." Sirius barked a laugh. Rose giggled quietly,

"How do we get back to the common room now? Lilly will probably think you are hanging me upside down outside by now." Rose asked looking about herself confused.

"Oh it's this way." Sirius said starting off down the corridor that had steps up at certain intervals.

"Lilly really doesn't like us does she?" James asked as they started to head back. Rose grimaced,

"No, not really. She thinks you're brash and Black is crass. Personally I think she's not got a leg to stand on with her relationship to Snivilius but that's just me." Rose answered sneering the last bit.

"He hangs about that creep Mulciber and the other freaks, he deserves everything he gets." Sirius said determinedly from in front of them, the corridor wasn't wide enough to have all three walk side by side.

Rose nodded once in agreement.

"What could I do say, if, hypothetically, I wanted to get on her good side?" James asked.

"Why?"

"He's in love with her." "I'm quidditch captain this year." Sirius said at the same time as James latterly.

"Well congrats on the Captaincy, My liege." Rose mocked bowing to James,

"Oh stop, that's the first thing to go. Johnson was a dick about that crap and I'm not bringing that back, you're still beater if you want to be." He waved off rolling his eyes.

Rose laughed,

"I'll help you get close to Lilly if you want?" She taunted. Sirius looked over his shoulder at the pretty girl,

"What about that pure blood mantra that as one of the sacred twenty eight you should be maintaining?" Sirius prompted mockingly,

"Who am I to stand in the way of true love Black? I don't see you tearing apart the match either as another of the _sacred twenty eight_." Rose replied laying her hand over her considerable left breast. She wasn't the biggest in the school but she was on the curvier side.

"Well the hat did say not to fray the seams." Sirius flirted back. James rolled his eyes and shoved his mate on the shoulders.

"This is true." Rose agreed with a sweet smile. "Hmm, first thing you could do is ask her for help with Potions. Feed her ego a little, you know?"

"Actually that's not half bad." James said slightly surprised.

They arrived at the end of the corridor, it was one floor below the portrait hole, Rose could barely contain her shock at the new found short cut.

"What else did you come up with?" She asked distractedly.

"Well, there was sending her flowers." He shrugged. Sirius laughed under his breath,

"It's a good shortcut isn't it?" He said cheekily at her wonderment. Rose smiled at him,

"I am using that tomorrow." She nodded. Sirius seemed to grow an inch with his pride.

Rose switched her attention back to James,

"He that has once done you a Kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged." Rose quoted. Sirius and James frowned at her.

"Who was it that said that?" James demanded.

Rose shrugged noncommittally, "Some American Muggle, I don't know it's an old one."

"Well Princess Pureblood is well read Padfoot; however will you deal with this?" James nudged his friend lightly.

"Why would he have to deal with it?" Rose frowned confused. Sirius shoved James,

"I don't, I wouldn't have." Sirius fumbled. Rose shook her head missing the hard look Sirius shot at James' grinning face.

The walked up the stairs to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Hey, thanks again Rosemary." Sirius said quietly.

"Let me know if I can do anything else. Seriously." She said,

Sirius groaned at her bad joke causing Rose to erupt in a fit of laughter.

"Cor fortium." James said clearly over the giggles, the stairway empty but for them.

Together they entered the Gryffindor common room, Lilly stood from the closest table, she looked furious.

"What were you doing?! Where have you been?" She demanded. Rose sighed,

"Relax Lilly, James was asking me how to get you to help him with Potions this year. He had a look over the book over summer and panicked, he was a bit intimidated by you to ask straight off." Rose waved the other girls concern off.

Lilly looked dubious at the story,

"Really Potter? Is this true?" She demanded crossing her arms,

"Lilly. Just one day. Just once, just relax." Rose insisted tiredly walking past her to the girls' staircase.

"It is true, I do need the help." James floundered. Sirius was busy looking after Rose as she walked away in her shorter than regulation skirt.

"Fine, I'll help you. But only because we need the house points this year." Lilly said testily. "And Sirius put your tongue back in your mouth; Rose is far too good for you." Lilly rolled her eyes; she then sat back down on the seat at the table she had been in before.

Both boys toughly chastised quickly spotted Remus and Peter by the fire and sloped off to sit with them.

They sat in silence until Rose appeared back in the room by the sofa that Sirius was sat on.

She was holding a large tub of white cream in her left hand; cursive writing covered the lid,

Merrick Anti Bruise salve.

"Is that it?" Sirius asked pointing to it,

"Yes it is, but there is a catch I'm afraid. It has to be one of the family that applies it or it doesn't work."

"How much tie magic does your family enact Rosemary?!" James hissed shocked. Sirius just rubbed his face and nodded.

"Fine, let's get this over with." He stood and headed to the boys stairs. Luckily there were not many people in the common room, just the older years, so the only people that noticed that Rose Merrick followed Sirius up the stairs were the other Marauders and Lilly.

Sirius pulled his jumper off roughly before starting on in his tie and shirt buttons. Rose to her credit didn't stand idle like a lump but instead focused on removing the lid from the tub.

"Whenever you're ready Rosie." Sirius said.

Rose looked up. She had only ever seen David without his shirt on and that plain expanse of skin did nothing for her at the time and to see her father without his shirt was mildly traumatising so when she looked up to the toned torso of Sirius Black bare before her she needed a second. She barely managed to keep a hold of the salve tub.

"Er, right, yes." She said flustered. She awkwardly moved closer and scooping a blob of the salve out of the tub she gently set her hand on his ribs and applied the medicine.

Rose was touching him. Sure it was for medical reasons and she promised that this would work so it didn't mean as much but still, she was touching him.

He breathed deeply trying to keep them regular and not freak out.

While he had a reputation as a rebel and a womaniser he had never gone further with a girl than some kissing and mild over the shirt touching. This in itself was, in a way, further then he had ever gotten with Maria Yates a Hufflepuff that had taken a shine to him the year before.

"Right, it works pretty fast so that should be pretty much clear by tomorrow." Rose declared standing before him.

"You used that a lot then?" Sirius asked, Rose rocked her head from side to side,

"I'm the Beater so… yes, I have." She smiled kindly at him.

"Go to Hogsmede with me." He blurted.

"Sure, not been with a friend in ages, could do with getting my sisters birthday present too." Rose countered. Sirius nodded franticly,

"Sounds great." He said with a false brightness.

"Well, goodnight then." She said fixing the lid on the tub and walking confidently from the dorm room.

No sooner had the door shut did Sirius groan loudly and flop back on him bed pulling his pillow over his head.

James watched Rose waved goodnight to them as she walked away towards the girls dorms. His mind raced and he sprinted to the dorm.

"Pads!" He exclaimed bursting into the room.

Sirius groaned again.

"What happened?" Remus asked coming to the door following after James,

"I asked her out." Sirius said lifting the pillow off his face.

Peter burst out laughing.

"Yeah and I bet she rejected you. Everyone knows Rose was basically claimed as Theodore Martin's girl and he is the Ravenclaw captain and in the year above. Padfoot's got no chance."

Sirius sat up, his legs hanging over the end of the bed,

"Did she Sirius?" Remus asked sympathetically.

"No actually. She said she'd not been with a friend in ages and that she could do with getting her sister's birthday present." Sirius said tartly.

"That's good. Oh." James said, his eyes widening then grimacing.

"What?" Sirius demanded.

"What if she didn't say no as a kind of thank you for the _situation_ over the summer." James theorised.

Sirius threw himself back onto the bed.

"God damn it." He exclaimed angrily.

"Don't think about it now Padfoot. Let's just all get to bed, it's late." Remus said ever the level headed one.

"Besides, they're just friends." Peter jibed but fell silent with a sharp look from James.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose looked over her timetable approvingly. The Great Hall buzzed with life around them as people discussed their new timetables that the heads of houses had just handed out. Rose's day was as follows;

1st Potions W/ Prof Slughorn

2ndPotions W/ Prof Slughorn

Break

3rd Defence Against the Dark Arts

Lunch

4th Ancient Runes

5th Herbology

6th Transfiguration

"Oh you have double potions with me this year Rose." Lilly beamed. Rose smiled back at her a little less enthusiastically, it always took Rose a little longer to wake up than the red haired girl, maybe that was because life was less exciting to a Witch who had been brought up within the magical world but maybe it was just that Rose was tired still and Lilly was not.

"Brilliant." Rose said distractedly, she looked down the table to the large oak doors, accidentally locking eyes with Theo Martin. He focused on her immediately and headed her way.

Internally Rose groaned, they had been on a couple of dates together but nothing serious, however Theo was from a wizarding family and Rose suspected that he was being encouraged to make ties with Rose due to the Merrick family standing and the fortune that went along with it.

Lilly looked up and blushed when she saw who was coming to their table, she had always liked Theo, and his boyish good looks making her feel pretty when he spoke to her. Unfortunately for Rose she just felt like she was always explaining everything all the time.

Rose felt a shadow loom over her while a long fingered hand pulled her timetable from her hands.

"Good morning Rosemary, I see you have Potions with me today, oh and Defence, and Ancient Runes and Transfiguration, how interesting. Oi Pads you seen this? It looks like our dear Rosemary will be spending an awful lot of time with us this year." James Potter said confidently his voice holding a teasing lilt to it. Sirius barely looked up from where he sat further along the table.

Rose breathed out in relief that it wasn't Snape back to try and get Lilly to talk to him. She looked again down the table and although Theo was still heading their way his confidence seemed to have faltered a little.

"Go. Away. Potter." Lilly ground out looking to Rose to back her up, Rose refused to look anywhere but her cereal preferring to let the drama that was about to play out pass over her head.

James swung his leg over the bench straddling it and lent on the table facing Rose.

"Now why would I want to do that when the Ravenclaw captain is headed this way?" James asked slowly his eyes widening with interest. "I would rather like to see what his interest with my favourite Beater is, wouldn't you?"

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Hiya Ros." Theo greeted awkwardly standing a little way off, he knew not to get too close to James Potter or become the target of one of their pranks.

"Hiya Theo." She replied kindly. "Congrats on getting the Captaincy again." She pointed to the blue badge he proudly wore.

Theo perked up a bit at that,

"Oh, yeah, thanks. Got to see if we can get a three year streak this time."

"You won't." James countered from behind Rose.

Theo's eyes shot to James and took in his proximity.

"Right, well. I was, erm, I was wondering if you would like to go to Hogs-"

"She would love to." "I can't." "She's going with Sirius." Lilly, Rose and James all said at once.

"What?" Theo blurted confused.

"She would love to, wouldn't you Rose?" Lilly said widening her eyes at Rose.

"I would love to Theo, however I have already said yes to someone else." Rose said with a sympathetic smile.

"You have?!" Lilly demanded, James smirked at her,

"She has." He winked.

"But the first weekend is not for a month, who has she said yes to already?" Lilly demanded of James. Rose and Theo were watching the exchange closely. James hadn't changed his posture from where he was straddling the bench and leaning with his left elbow on the table, his right hand holding his left over his chest.

"My good friend Sirius Black asked her last night." James confirmed looking smugly up at Theo.

"Oh when she followed him up to your dorm. What were you doing there Rose?"

"She was giving him some of her bruise cream." James answered for Rose conspiratorially. Lilly looked dubious but seemed to accept the answer as she lifted her orange juice to her lips.

"Really Ros?" Theo demanded looking hurt. "You would rather go with Black than me? I didn't think you even liked Black?!"

"Well he did help me out over the summer so I guess you could say that we were friends." Rose shrugged looking back at James who nodded with a smirk. Theo scoffed calling her attention back to him again.

"And I've told you about the Ros thing, I don't like it. My name is Rose." She said confidently, she turned back to her bowl and muttered, "Ros sounds common."

James was the only one who heard her and had to suppress a laugh. This was the star beater of the Gryffindor team who on the pitch had the best aim, best swing and best sense of where the game was moving, totally un afraid of wind, rain and mud but put her on dry land and she was the prissiest girl he knew.

"Yeah well you let everyone else call your Rosemary." Theo groused clearly getting quite upset with the direction of the conversation.

"That is because Rosemary is a nice plant, very hardy and elegant, just like our Rosemary here. Now Martin why don't you pop off and get yourself some breakfast leave my team mates alone." James said his voice hardening with an underlying threat.

Theo paled and scarpered quickly.

"Remind me again why you like that guy?" James asked Rose quietly ignoring Lilly's astounded face.

"Why would you do that Potter? You could quite clearly see that he was trying to get her to go out with him!" Lilly demanded.

Rose shrugged,

"He was older." James shot her a confused look,

"But your birthday is in August, everyone is older than you." He shot back then looked to Lilly,

"Can't have inter team relationships Lilly my darling, it always ends up messy." He assured her with a confident nod.

"Alright name me one inter house quidditch player relationship that hasn't fallen apart and ended horridly?" He countered. Lilly began to reply but Rose didn't hear it because she quietly gathered her bag and slipped away leaving them to their slightly bickering conversation.

She entered the hallway and had to stop for a second to remember how to get to the part of the dungeons that she needed to be in for potions.

"You've forgotten where to go haven't you?" Remus' deep voice rumbled clearly from just behind her. Rose didn't say anything just grimaced back at the much taller boy.

"Where are you going?" He asked calmly his face less pale and drawn than she had seen before but he still looked tired.

"Potions." She answered succinctly. Remus nodded and pulled her off a small alcove down a quiet corridor.

Rose frowned at him as he pulled from his bag a large blank piece of parchment. He set his wand on it and muttered,

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Remus watched Rose's face as the ink began to emerge on the parchment and it swiftly took the form of the Marauders map.

"This should help you to remember." He said cheekily. "We had a chat last night before bed and we think that we can trust you."

"I'm honoured." Rose said sarcastically her eyes never leaving the page. "I think I remember now where I am supposed to go, thank you." She said after a long moment of looking the map over.

"Don't-"

"Tell anyone." She finished, "I know, with you lot it's all secrets and hushed voices. I wouldn't be surprised if there was much more that you weren't telling me."

"You have no idea." Remus smirked at her. Rose smiled and shook her head, she wasn't surprised anymore, and after fourth year she had just decided to go with it.

"What have you got later?" Rose asked stepping out of the alcove.

"I've History of Magic first and second and then, Ancient Runes, Care of magical creatures and Transfiguration." Remus listed following her back to the main corridor.

"Oh, you have Ancient Runes and Transfiguration with me then." Rose said brightly, she liked that he took Ancient Runes with her as it gave her a person to sit with.

Remus smiled back and nodded,

"Well I'll see you later, I won't say a word." Rose said and swanned off to her Potions lesion just as the bell went to end breakfast.

"Good morning everyone." Slughorn greeted happily as his N.E.W.T level students filed into his classroom. "Gather round the first bench if you would please."

Dutifully they all shuffled over to the lab table covered already with different potions bubbling away.

"Now I want to see who has done some reading over summer." He looked cheekily at the blank faces gazing back at him. "What are these potions?"

Rose looked them all over, she knew what they were but she hated the looks that the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students gave her whenever she raised her hand so she kept quiet.

"Oh come now. One of you must know." Slughorn deflated a little, "Miss Evans?" He prompted hopefully.

Lilly leant closer and looked them all over,

"Erm, Polyjuice, Draught of living death and Amortenia sir." She replied quickly.

"Fantastic, twenty points to Gryffindor."

"Can anyone tell me anything else about Amortenia?" He looked to Rose pointedly then; Lilly nudged her with her elbow.

"It smells differently to everyone that smells it." Slughorn nodded raising his eyebrows, 'go on' he seemed to say. Rose looked over it, the mother of pearl potion lying before her in the closest cauldron.

"Well, I smell," She took a large nose full of the steam, "Broom polish and leather and whiskey and something else that I can't name. But Lilly may smell…"

"Fresh cut grass and clean linen, vanilla and old books." Lilly finished off. Rose smirked at her shoes; she knew exactly who Lilly smelt even if Lilly didn't. James. He always wore a fresh shirt and had a vanilla soap by his bed, the fresh cut grass was when he had just come off the pitch and the old books was when they were looking for a spell for a prank. Rose had an idea already as to where the year was going to go with those two but couldn't say for sure.

"Of course it's never real love that the potion creates but, infatuation, obsession." Slughorn said, Rose's eyes flickered to Severus who seemed to alternate between staring at the potion and at Lilly. "It can be dangerous, so be careful."

The spell seemed to have broken then, all of the students snapping back into the room.

"Now this session I would like you to make a love potion antidote. The pair that makes the antidote the best will win this small bottle of memory enhancer, very useful for revision. We will be testing the potions on one of the pair that volunteer." Slughorn said and the crowd murmured their approval.

"Now before you go pairing yourselves up I have devised a seating plan to avoid any of last year's hijinks."

The crowd groaned. Rose was alright with whoever she was partnered with, so long as it wasn't Snape she was confident that she could just get on with the potion herself.

"Now, Mr Abbott please go with Miss Tubult." He began, Rose tuned out only listening for her name and Lilly's,

"Mr Black with Miss Evans, Miss Merrick with Mr Potter."

"Rose looked over to the two boys, they seemed less displeased than pleased and dutifully left each other's side to take their places on the two tables.

Rose walked over to her Captain and seated herself; she looked back at the desk behind to see Lilly place her bag down with a sigh.

"At least it's you Rosemary; don't think I would have lasted the year next to Snivilius." James said resignedly.

Rose smiled and shrugged,

"I'm just glad that I am not with Katie." She said pulling out her copy of advanced potions making.

"Who?" James demanded,

"Her." Rose pointed subtly to the wild-eyed girl with an unnerving grin and frizzy straight mousy brown hair.

"Oh wow." James laughed, "That's just unfortunate."

"She has a huge crush on Theo Martin and guess who he likes?" Rose said sarcastically about the Ravenclaw girl.

"You. Oh the poor man. He has to have that in his common room. Imagine looking round and seeing her. I think I'd shit myself." James said more to himself than to Rose.

Rose snickered, and James realised she was still listening.

"I mean it's alright for us, we look round the common room and there is some decent girl art but wow."

Rose's eyebrows rose at his comment.

"Decent girl art? I'm sorry but what?" She shook her head, "That might be the single most misogynistic thing I've heard you say since I picked up my beaters bat."

James burst out laughing,

"Oh come on, you know what I mean! Besides it goes both ways you lot have me and Sirius to look at." James stroked his chest playfully sparking another laugh from Rose as he wiggled his eyebrows over his circular glasses.

Behind them Sirius sat watching his best mate forlornly as he spoke happily to the girl that was beginning to take a hold of Sirius' heart.

"You're not even listening are you?" Lilly demanded snatching the boy's attention.

"No. Sorry." Sirius said softly with a smirk at Lilly.

"I was saying, it was pretty quick work booking Rose for the first Hogsmede weekend. Theo Martin came to our table this morning to ask her thinking he would be the first."

"Martin was mistaken on that front then." Sirius said looking over the bottles of ingredients that Slughorn had prepared for them on the table.

"Rose said that you helped her out over the summer but I can't imagine anything as big as to warrant a Hogsmede date to repay it." Lilly prompted, she already knew everything that had happened because Rose had told them all, and she just wanted to see if Sirius would tell her or not.

"It's more a me thanking her thing really; she helped get my bike fixed." Sirius said flipping through the text book to the right page then.

"Oh really?" Lilly said, Sirius nodded looking over the page of the book that detailed love potions and their antidotes.

Rose's laughter filled the air and Sirius' gaze shot up; his eyes lingered on the shortness of her skirt and the expanse of leg on display. Not for the first time he wondered what that skin would feel like below his hand. He had smelt her perfume in the potion as he walked past it, he was sure of it; it was a unique fancy French make that she had bought over her annual holiday to France during the summer.

Lilly watched Sirius' eyes as he looked over her friend and smirked to herself, she knew Rose would never consider the possibility of Sirius and that it would be a fun year to see the two circle each other.

The more that Lilly thought about it as she was making the antidote, the more it made sense in her mind. Nobody was able to keep up with her like James and Sirius were, nobody knew her to be kind and giving under her pureblood upbringing like Sirius and other boys just saw her pretty face and attractive body not bothering with the person behind it. Rose herself had said it was deeply disappointing when she liked a guy and got asked out by him only to have them make inappropriate advances on her or that they turned out to be stupid.

"So Rosemary, while we have a few minutes watching this boil I was wondering if you would be up for telling me about the worst date you've ever had. Just so that as a male I can put a stop to the cycle of really bad dates." James asked imperiously his eyes not straying from the purple liquid.

"Malcom Garner." Rose said instantly.

"Isn't he the Hufflepuff heartthrob though?" James countered, "How _many_ guys have you dated Rose?"

Rose sighed,

"Malcom is indeed the Hufflepuff heartthrob, like you say, but alas he is thick as pig shit." She said sadly, "We spent an hour in that tea shop and I never want to step foot in there again."

"That bad?" James prompted. Rose hummed next to him.

"I have dated ten guys James, none of whom have ever amounted to much more than a mild disappointment, you see I think I talk myself into things and then when I get there I kind of wonder what it was all for." Rose explained. James this time hummed next to her in understanding.

"I know what you mean. I dated a few to get over," He stopped himself, "but it didn't work." James blushed a little. Rose smiled softly,

"Yes, well, it seems I am doomed to be the picky pureblood princess as Marlene says." James breathed a laugh,

"Bet that sounds great in her accent."

"It does rather." Rose agreed throwing in the Gurdyroot so the liquid turned green. Their moment over they returned to the serious business of potions making.

"You will sit where I have put you, I will hear no protestations, silence as you sit down."

Professor Augustine was a man sporting many scars presumably obtained from his tenure in the Auror office of the Ministry. He was also a man with whom everything had to be perfect, he didn't believe in a jovial atmosphere of learning, it had been Dumbledore that he had as his Defence teacher and it was the fun carefree attitude to the Dark Arts that he believed had led to the rise of yet another dark wizard.

He terrified Rose.

"I think you're with me." Remus said quietly. He gripped her elbow and led her to a desk in the middle of the classroom.

"Do not leave me here alone." Rose hissed, her cool façade slipping just a little.

Remus said nothing but together they took their seats. Augustine had clearly spoken to the other teachers because no single Marauder was sat near to each other or by a Slytherin.

"Look to the person sitting next to you. Would you trust them with your life?" Augustine called as he made his way towards the blackboard that was already writing the date and lesson title on itself.

"This is what you have to consider every day with the practical applications of these lessons. Would you _willingly_ entrust your life to the person sitting beside you?" He continued reaching the board that now read.

" _Duels, what happens when they go wrong_."

Rose swallowed heavily, she hated Defence lessons, in fact the only reason that she chose it was because everyone else had done and she needed to fill a slot. She never predicted that a man like Augustine would be their teacher.

"Look at the material that is coming round now. I want you to take notes on this so that the seriousness does not escape you."

Rose watched as the booklets got delivered magically to each desk. Then she saw what was on them and felt sick.

"These are some of the injuries that are permanent from miscast, crossfired and particularly nasty spells. St Mungos currently has no idea how to treat these people and nor will they, they do not know the circumstances of the spells cast nor do they know the particular mix of spells cast."

Augustine stood fully before the class and smiled, it set Rose's teeth on edge.

"You see when you are in a dual properly, you are not able to watch and know each spell that is cast, and usually there are too many being flung in rapid succession. So. The person next to you has the job of making sure that nothing hits them and that nothing hits you. The same applies in reverse. That person could be the only thing standing between you and certain death." He announced seriously.

A sombre mood had overtaken the class as they looked over the grotesque images of limbs twisted and engorged, people fighting to be free of those restraining them a wild look in their eyes and scars, scars of a werewolf attack.

Remus gasped and paled.

"A werewolf. I know its terrifying isn't it." Rose whispered comfortingly. Remus absently nodded.

"You." Augustine pointed to Rose, "Stand up."

Rose shakily got to her feet.

"Since you are so eager to talk in this class perhaps you could give some examples."

Rose nodded.

"Good. Name the properties of an Obscurial." Augustine demanded his cold beady eyes trained on Rose, his large figure now leaning on his desk an air of imperial control surrounding him.

"They are usually children under ten who through suppressing their magical ability plays host to an Obscurus which when the Obscurial is placed under sufficient stress will manifest as a destructive windlike force." Rose answered in her cool detached voice; it was a practiced art that she had learnt as a child. Her grandmother would not tolerate blubbering children so she had instilled in Rose and Victoria a sense of dignity that emerged under times of stress.

"Correct." He said without any sort of encouragement or warmth, "Tell me, are you a pureblood?"

Rose frowned her eyes flickering to Sirius who had turned from where he sat to the front left of the class to look at her.

"Don't look at him, look at me!" Augustine shouted. Rose started and maintained her focus on her teacher. His scared face twisted and angry now.

"Well?" He demanded loudly.

"Yes, sir. Scared twenty eight, sir." Rose answered flustered.

"Merrick isn't one of the twenty eight names is it?" Augustine sneered. "Are you lying to me?"

"No sir, I am of the Fawley line." Rose said. Anger was bubbling inside of her, how dare this man make her feel so small and weak.

"Very well then." He said waving his hand. Rose took this as a sign to sit down and began to do so.

"Did I tell you to sit?" He demanded seeing what Rose was doing.

"No, sir." She answered straightening herself again.

"Well then remain standing." He said coldly. "Talk in my lessons again and you will regret it, am I clear Merrick?"

"Crystal." Rose said tightly. Augustine raised an eyebrow,

"Sir." Rose said quickly with a tight smile.

Augustine nodded once and continued on with the rest of the lesson leaving Rose to stand her face burning with embarrassment and her gut boiling with hatred.

Sirius looked back at the girl standing up. He suspected that Augustine had other reasons to keep Rose stood up for the lesson than just her talking. He had no proof but he suspected a grudge but could not prove it.

Rose had not stood up for quite so long since the week she and her sister had spent with her grandmother. Retha Merrick was not a cruel woman but she was one that demanded excellence and had the two girls stand in the garden for hours with large books balanced on their heads in the effort to give them both patience and good posture.

Still Rose nearly cried when the bell rang for change of period. As fast as she could she scooped up her possessions and hurried from the class room. Lilly watched her go sympathetically, the other girl wanted to comfort her friend but she did feel torn towards the side of the Professor who was trying to in her mind maintain discipline in his class room.

She absolutely failed to notice the two boys tearing after her into the corridor.

Remus quietly materialised next to her desk,

"Could you give Rose your notes for today? She didn't write a single word." Remus asked kindly and Lilly nodded. He smiled back at her and left Lilly behind wondering how such horrid things could happen to such a good person.

Rose felt the cool stone beneath her splayed hand and breathed deeply in and out trying to fight back tears. She was in the hidden corridor that Sirius had shown her the other night as she tried desperately to calm down.

"Prongs, I've found her." Sirius said quietly and the two of them slipped behind the tapestry into the quiet environment.

Rose felt one of them rest a hand on her left shoulder and she let them.

"He needs to be taken down a peg or two." James said soundly. Sirius made noises of agreement.

"All that crap about are you a pure blood? Who cares, it's not a black and white world." He said, Rose was fairly sure that it was his hand on her shoulder.

She nodded and pushed off of the wall discretely whipping her right eye as it watered.

"So how are we going to take him down a peg or two. That bastards probably paranoid from being in the Auror office so long." He had told them in the lesson about his previous career. "He will expect an immediate attack so I suggest that we wait. There is the possibility that he will make me stand until Christmas but I'll just have to get a quotes quill then." Rose said fury burning in her eyes.

"You're kinda hot when you're angry." Sirius said stupidly.

"Then I'm about to become fucking beautiful." Rose growled. James smirked,

"Don't worry about it dearest Rosemary. From this day forth a hit will be out on Augustine's head, just you wait and see." He slung his arm around Rose's shoulders and guided her out of the hidden corridor.

The two walked her to the Great Hall avoiding the general populous by taking what they called 'the back way' through their network of small corridors and hidden passageways.

"I should go in alone." Rose said as they reached the doors. "If I go in with you and the bastard sees it looks like I'm a weak little girl who can't stand up for herself."

"Really? Because it could look like you have support from your peers." Sirius countered, Rose shook her head.

"No, no I have to do this alone. Thank you." She pulled her bag up her shoulder, squared her shoulders and entered the great hall.

Sirius watched her go.

"Now that, it one unique woman Prongs. I will not hear a word against her." He said to James.

James just nodded and followed after her at a measured distance.

Rose strode confidently down the gap between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables staring straight ahead until she reached her friends where she took her seat and acted like nothing had happened.

McGonagall watched the girl as she walked with a poise and dignity that could rival any of age Witch or Wizard and wondered why she was falling back onto her prior education that she had received from Retha Merrick. Especially after having seen the girl relax so much from that starting point at eleven.

"That's the one I was just telling you about Bowin. I had her stand for the entire hour. I will not have talking in my lessons." Augustine boasted from to seats down. McGonagall pursed her lips, so that was the reason,

"You should be careful Professor Augustine, she is one of the best students in my house. And I think you will find that she is also very well-liked by the others, I would hate for the curse of your position to continue due to a disagreement with the students." She warned leaning round Professor Bowin the Care Of Magical Creatures teacher.

"I will bare that in mind Professor, however when you have been in a position such as mine for so long, control of mere children is hardly difficult."

"We shall see." She replied leaning back in her seat and resuming her meal.

The rest of the day ran smoothly, she excelled in her Ancient Runes class as well as Herbology, Transfiguration as well passed without incident. The only thing that really got to her was the looks, everyone knew of the incident by the afternoon and Rose was beginning to feel it. So much so that when the bell rang for the end of her day she got changed and headed off to the Quidditch pitch.

Nobody had booked the field and she didn't intend to get on her broom. She was going to run around the pitch until she felt good and tired, then she was going to head back to her dorm, shower and change, have a late dinner from the kitchens, write a letter home and go to bed. If she stuck to that plan then she wouldn't encounter another soul until she was ready in the morning. By that time she would have been able to remember the training that she had been given by her grandmother and would be able to face the questioning glances of the rest of the school.

So that is what she did. However she did notice the captain of the Gryffindor team sitting in the stands. He didn't say anything, not even when she got on her broom and flew evasion drills, ducking and weaving around imaginary obstacles.

He skipped dinner with her and then followed her back to the tower. He waited for her to get showered and changed and he watched her head out of the common room. He waited and waited for her to return. Everyone else had gone to bed but he held the map and waited.

When Rose finally made it back to the common room she didn't expect anyone to be there, but sat in front of the dying fire by the far side of the room, was James Potter.

"You didn't have to you know." Rose said taking the seat next to him. He slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

"My dear Rosemary. I do not know what you mean." He said quietly squeezing her side.

When they were both yawning she stood and with a murmured goodnight they both parted for bed.

"Rose." Lilly whispered, she was stood in the doorway peering out clearly she too had been waiting for her friend. Rose said nothing but pushed the door open, all of them were sat on the ends of their beds looking worried.

"Thank you. I'm fine." Rose said stiffly. After five years of living together they all knew what she meant by this and piled forward to hug the brown haired girl. Rose buried herself in the warmth of her friends and when they were sure that she was alright they let her go to bed after all it was very late.


	4. Chapter 4

"So did you have a chance to listen to the record I sent you for your birthday Rose?" Mary asked Rose over Breakfast the next day.

"Queen wasn't it?" Rose asked sipping her tea. Marry grinned nodding,

"Yes, they were quite good." She admitted. "I do like the look of that guy Brian too."

Mary giggled,

"I like Roger; I think _he's_ the best looking one." She blushed and smiled at her toast.

"I don't know, there is something about Brian I just can't place it." Rose shrugged. Lilly had, had an early breakfast and Marlene didn't like to eat that early so it was Rose, Mary and Diana that were sat together, although Diana was half asleep and looking over her cope of Fantastic Beasts.

"Di, are you alright? I wish you would eat something." Rose said to the blonde girl opposite her.

"I have Creatures first thing and Bowin said that we would be looking at Graphorns up close today and I need to know that there won't be a repeat of last year with the Pogrebin that bit me." She insisted.

Mary laughed a little,

"I had forgotten about that. It was really rather funny actually."

"No it wasn't!" Diana insisted tersely. Rose kept out of the budding argument and looked about the hall. The gossips had died down somewhat but she still got a few overly interested glances.

Theo sent her a smile and a nod to which Rose waved back.

"You okay?" He mouthed to her and she nodded returning to her pervious occupation of looking around the room. Eventually she found him and caught his eye.

Johnny looked up feeling someone's gaze on him, straight into the eyes of his favourite cousin. He beamed when she waved him over to sit with her.

"Look you can't prepare for every eventuality!" Mary insisted to Diana who shook her head vehemently.

Johnny arrived in the seat next to Rose in a flurry of new robes and a heavy book bag nearly falling onto the bench rather than sitting.

She chuckled at his enthusiasm especially when he flung himself at her.

"Hello to you too Johnny." Rose said muffled by the smaller body.

Johnny sniffled a little before letting her go.

"How is the blue house?" She asked quietly leaning into his space so as to look like they were plotting.

"It's alright, the prefects are really strict and I miss you. Although I am sharing a room with three really nice boys." Johnny said his grin as infectious as it was gappy.

"That's great. I miss you too sprout I wish you could have been with me so I could take care of you, but I can do that just fine where you are too." Rose grinned smoothing down his dirty blonde hair.

"Have you written to Aunt Lucinda yet? I got a letter from Mum this morning and something from Dad too but I've not opened it." Johnny pulled out a letter covered in muggle postage. It was addressed to the house back in Suffolk and had been battered but remained unopened.

"You can open it now if you like and I could read it. See if its anything nice first?" Rose offered. The boy looked pensive for a moment before handing his surrogate sister the letter.

Rose quickly gripped her knife and lanced open the envelope. She withdrew the paper and cast a glance over it.

Johnny waited patiently for her to tell him what it said but as she read further he could see from her face that it was nothing good.

"Well, I won't lie to you Sprout, it's not exactly very flattering to your mother but he doesn't say anything direct about you which could be classed as a good thing." Rose offered positively. Johnny shook his head and sighed holding out his little hand for the letter; Rose took the opportunity and playfully hit his hand with hers in imitation of a childlike game.

"I'll just burn it like Mum said to do with the others." His green eyes met hers sadly. "He is never going to be proud of me is he?"

Rose's heart broke just a little and she sucked in her bottom lip running her tongue over it.

"Well, I am proud of you and so are your mother and Aunt and Uncle and I know that grandma Fawley is very proud of you. What one Muggle man thinks isn't the end of the world Johnny, you should know this." She assured planting a kiss on his forehead. Johnny nodded.

He still looked really sad though so when Rose spotted Sirius, Remus, James and Peter heading towards her she flagged them down with a nod.

"Alright Rosemary? Who's this?" Sirius asked stopping by her side.

Rose smiled up at the taller boys ever so slightly batting her eyelashes,

"This is my cousin John Fawley." She introduced the younger boy shrinking slightly at the imposing sight of the four taller boys.

"Ah, yes! Wee Johnny Fawley, I've heard a lot about you." Sirius said crouching down. James took the seat next to the young boy.

"You probably don't remember but I used to come to your family's garden party each summer." James said nudging Johnny's side. Recognition bloomed on his face and he nodded excitedly,

"Yeah, you're Potter!" He said happy to be meeting someone that he knew in the school.

"So, I reckon that you're missing your family and you want to be cheered up." Remus summarised his hands resting in his trouser pockets as his shoulder slumped over slightly making himself look less threatening. Peter just fidgeted next to them clearly bored.

"No, it's not that." Johnny said shooting Rose a questioning look. She nodded in encouragement.

"My Dad's not very nice. Keeps sending me letters." He pointed to the letter the Rose was still holding.

Sirius took a quick look at the paper in Rose's hand and sighed.

"Well, I'll let you into a little secret." He said looking about them for overhearing peoples. "My family don't like me all that much either. In fact, they kicked me out. I'm staying at James' place." Johnny looked shocked at this revelation.

"Family isn't just who your blood is Johnny. It's also who you want in your life." Rose said soundly rubbing his left shoulder comfortingly.

"Exactly, now, where do you need to be?" Remus said and Johnny quickly pulled his schedule from his bag,

"Erm, Muggle Studies, third floor." Johnny answered.

"What a coincidence, I was headed that way myself." Remus smiled down at the younger boy. "Why don't I show you the way?" Johnny beamed up at the Gryffindor prefect and nodded quickly following after him waving goodbye to Rose.

"He's such a good man." Diana sighed. Rose and Mary shot her a look of surprise.

"Got a little crush there Jefferies?" Peter taunted merrily, Rose had forgotten that he was still stood behind them.

"Shut up Pettigrew. It's not like anyone has a crush on you!" She snapped. Blushing madly Diana scooped her things together and all but ran from the table.

Rose looked to the boys on her left,

"You know I think she just might." She said happily, it wasn't every day that you learnt something new about your good friend that you lived with.

"We should be going. Oh, word of warning, maybe you want to avoid the fourth floor main corridor, it's a little… how did you put it Pads?" James said standing from the bench once again,

"Swampy." Sirius said proudly pushing back his curly hair.

Rose laughed while Mary groaned.

"But I've got Muggle Studies NEWT up there now." She moaned. Rose laughed again,

"Why are you even taking that? You're muggle born!"

Mary shrugged,

"It's an easy grade. Can't afford to be too picky when good marks are on the table." Rose just laughed in reply as did the boys who all walked away to their next engagement.

As it transpired their next engagement was Herbology the same as Rose and Dorcas Meadows. Dorcas was possibly the only Slytherin that Rose could stand and that was because she was an all-round 'good egg'.

They clowned around together with their Venemous Tentacular cutting that they were raising and had a great time making joke about different plant names as swears.

At the end of the hour James caught up with Rose,

"Hey, so Quidditch try outs are going to be Thursday afternoon, I've booked the pitch out, we have to find a new seeker, two chasers and maybe see if we can replace Fitzpatrick as Keeper. You and Eógan are safe though as nobody signed up to try for your position.

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not?" Rose grimaced, she got on fine with Eógan but if there was someone better then they deserved a shot, this year they were all determined that Gryffindor would win the league.

"I think it is, clearly it's something that you two are excellent at and have everyone intimidated over." James countered, they headed from green house six back to the castle, Rose had a free period and intended to meet Remus in the library to have him go over the lesson of defence that she missed because their teacher was being an arse.

"Either way, it will be good to re-examine the team once more, see where we were going wrong last year." Rose shrugged; she looked back and saw Dorcas and Sirius flirting with each other. Dorcas was a horrendous flirt, the best bit was that she never intended to be, with the people she actually liked she couldn't summon a word.

"I know where the team was going wrong last year Rosemary," James said bitterly, "We had an egotistical captain who deemed himself the god of the pitch."

"He actually said that once." Rose said airily. James barked a laugh,

"He never did."

"Did too, you were in detention." Rose shot back as they reached the main building.

"What have you got now?" James asked accepting Rose's statement.

"Free period, I'm meeting Lilly and Remus in the Library going over that defence lesson again." Rose said pulling her bag higher up her shoulder.

"Alright, I'm in Arithmancy with Sirius now so, see you for lunch?" James said pointing to the other staircase that led to the east wing of the castle. Rose nodded and headed up the west staircase to the library on the second floor.

Remus and Lilly were whispering furiously together when Rose arrived, she hung back a bit in the amongst the dark shelves watching them. Something was clearly wrong but Rose wasn't close enough to hear.

"Just leave it." Remus hissed suddenly losing his temper. He looked over his shoulder spotting Rose and his expression changed. His expression schooled itself back to neutral and he turned back to his homework.

Confused Rose took the other chair at the table,

"Hiya Rose." Lilly said brightly, it was overly cheerful like she was masking something.

"Hello Lilly. If I am interrupting I can leave and come back in again?" She said raising her eyebrows.

"It's nothing. Remus is just lying." Lilly smiled at Rose. Remus rolled his eyes,

"I wasn't lying to you," He protested, "I was nowhere near the corridor this morning. The first I get there is when I took Rose's cousin to his muggle studies class."

"But I told you Rose doesn't have a cousin at Hogwarts." Lilly insisted. Rose smirked to herself.

"I do actually." She said quietly. Remus gestured to her, his right hand splayed open to the ceiling, his face all but screaming at Lilly, 'I told you so.'

Lilly pursed her lips and tossed her dark red hair over her shoulder,

"Still doesn't mean that you aren't involved." Lilly groused.

"Yes it does." Remus laughingly growled. Lilly was stubborn and it was infuriating at times, even a boy like Remus who very rarely seemed to lose his temper could get annoyed at her.

Rose smiled to herself at their friendly bickering, she pulled out her defence text book and the notes that Lilly had made and began to read them.

"This isn't actually teaching us anything." Rose declared after a few minutes of reading the notes over, Lilly's penmanship with a quill had definitely improved from first year as the parchment was no longer covered in splodges of ink.

"Not really, I think he was just trying to terrify us so that we would listen for the rest of the year." Lilly said with a grimace.

"What I did find interesting in that lesson was Sirius' reaction to Augustine. I wouldn't be surprised if today he does something," Remus said with a small smile. He was trying to grow a moustache but at the moment it had yet to fill in and was merely a darkening of his top lip.

"What do you mean?" Rose demanded.

"Well, the swamp was targeted before Augustine's office." Remus shrugged looking over his notes and copying the most important titbits onto a flash card.

Rose frowned.

"So, he and James said they would put a hit out on him for making me stand the full hour. It's got nothing to do with Sirius in particular."

Remus nodded with an unconvinced face.

"Remus?" Lilly demanded, "What aren't you telling us?"

"Nothing." Remus said airily not looking up from his flash card.

"Does Black like Rose?" Lilly frowned looking from Rose to Remus.

"I couldn't say." He said calmly.

Rose frowned at the shelves around them. James and Sirius were some of her oldest friends, sure she wasn't really friends with Sirius until she hung around with him more last year, the boys had had some kind of falling out and she had been the one in almost all of his classes that he sort of knew so he hung round her until she didn't find him annoying anymore.

But to think that he liked her as more than a friend was concerning. She wasn't looking for a steady date, far from it she wanted the fun of messing around but too many relationships that she knew of blossoming in high school ended in disaster. Her sisters for one.

Victoria Merrick was the toast of Hufflepuff at one point but then she started to date a Slytherin called Peake and he broke up with her just before the summer of their last year. It left a stain on the year for Victoria as she was all ready to move on with her life with him.

"I hope not." Rose muttered under her breath.

Days past calmly as the rest of the school settled into the routine of the new school year. Eventually Rose found herself on the quidditch pitch again but this time with much better circumstances. These unfortunately were not mirrored by the weather.

Sleet pelted Rose in the face as she stood next to Eógan and James as the new recruits struggled to stay upright under the force of the rain.

"Right." James bellowed over the wind. "We are going to see how you all fly and then go from there."

Rose shook her head. There was no way that they had heard that. She fished out her wand placing it to her neck and then spoke as she would normally.

"We are going to see how you fly and go from there. Everyone in to the air." Her voice magically enhanced cleared the blustering wind and finally everyone knew what they were doing. James looked back at her and grinned throwing both of his thumbs up.

"Thanks!" He tried to shout over the wind.

Rose mimed cutting her neck and James waved her off mounting her broom.

There were some that weren't half bad and others that couldn't fly for toffee. Unfortunately the ones that couldn't fly for toffee were the ones that were trying evidently to impress her. Heaven only knows why.

James landed next to Rose and Eógan on the pitch. The try outs had gone on for longer than they expected and it was nearing dark now.

"Well that didn't go half bad. Think we may have a good team there." James said brightly pulling off his goggles and striding into the castle confidently.

Rose laughed and followed behind him at a more sedate pace.

Eógan cleared his throat behind her.

"Rose. We have been playing together for a good few years now." He began,

"Oh at least." Rose nodded.

"Well, I was wondering. Would you be able to get me a date with your friend?" He continued.

Rose frowned,

"And just who might that be? I have a fair few friends." She said seeking clarification.

Eógan paled,

"Well, McKinnon." He fumbled; he stood before her clearly a bundle of nerves playing with a knot on the wood of his broomstick.

"Oh, she's never mentioned a guy she liked before so I guess there is no harm in trying." Rose shrugged and smiled.

Marlene had never mentioned a boy before because unbeknownst to all of her friends she was not interested in boys. She was however very interested in a certain curly dark haired girl with pale skin that was, to Marlene's mind, brought out by the green lined robes that she wore on a day to day basis.

Eógan and Rose bantered happily back to the common room. Rose was extremely happy that she had a double free period on Friday morning and that it would be filled with taking an ever so slightly illegal trip to the forgotten prefects bathroom on the ninth floor so as to let her muscles relax after a training session such as the one they did that night.

It was late. Rose knew it was but she was still awake. She should not have been awake, not after the try outs and the end of the first week back. But here she was lying in her pastel pink lacy pyjamas staring at the canopy above her head as sleep completely eluded her. Rose was tired, yes, she knew that, but sleep refused to arrive.

Frustrated she threw her covers off and jammed her feet into her slippers and marched downstairs to quietly stretch herself into a relaxed enough state that she could then hope for sleep in.

"Black?" Rose reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped short. Sirius was facing the fire, his long fingers pushed through his glossy curly mane, as he sat on the sofa hunched over, the elbow of the hand in his hair propped on his knee.

He looked round sharply at the interruption.

"Oh it's you." He said thickly. He had been crying. He returned to look at the letter in his hand. It was several pages long and covered in thick squat text.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked stepping closer to him.

Sirius sniffed,

"Yeah, I'm fine. Absolutely." He lied.

Rose's brow pinched and she strode forward to the sofa. She didn't say anything she just held out her hand.

Sirius saw the long fingers and manicured nails of her right hand and placed the letter into it.

Rose read it quickly.

Sirius.

You should know that you have disappointed us deeply. Not only have you betrayed the family you belong to but you have sullied the good name of your ancestors by allying yourself with the scum that is in that school.

We are ashamed of you. You could have been so much more. We gave you everything and this is how you betray us? By cavorting with blood traitors and mudbloods. Never mind the muggle that you paraded through our home.

We see no other option than to strike you from the family, You should be aware that this was a painful decision to make and that should you with to return then you will not be welcome. Do not darken our door again. You will receive no inheritance and no property that resides within this house even if you should see the error of your ways you will no longer be allowed to be a part of this family.

This we do for your brother. You are a bad influence on him and as such you are not to speak to him, look at him or try to contact him in any way, you are not to approach him in the corridors of the hallowed halls that you now inhabit.

Regulus had been instructed to not engage with you.

See the over leaf for the signed documents of disinheritance.

Orion Black. Your Father

It hit Rose then. It was real, while she knew that he was staying at the Potters over the summer this meant that his family had fully shit the door on him never to return.

"I didn't think they would take Reg." Sirius sniffed. Rose set her hand on his shoulder sitting beside him, "He's my baby brother; I thought I would still have him left, could help him see that their poison was just that."

His grey eyes met her hazel and filled up with unshed tears.

"I'm all alone now." He whispered looking back at the floor, a tear dripping off his nose.

Rose took a deep breath,

"One of the best things about being all on your own is that you can create. Create a better world, a better family. If you ever become a father you can show Orion that you are worth something, by being warm and open. My cousin once told me a fantastic piece of advice. All a child needs is love, a grown-up to take responsibility for them, and a soft place to land. If you can provide that then you will be miles better than him."

"Your cousin is eleven." Sirius scoffed sniffing again. Rose smiled,

"I have more than one cousin. These are older, my fathers' side." She explained. Sirius looked into her eyes again,

"Why couldn't you be my family?" He wondered aloud.

Rose blushed,

"I don't think you would want me as your family Sirius, I'm afraid I'd not be any good." She said softly.

He gave her a long hard look as if he was memorising her face. Perhaps he was, Rose had no idea half the time what was going on behind those sparkling eyes of his.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to him." Sirius blurted, he hadn't spoken to anyone about the night he turned up at the Potters dripping wet from the rain and covered in more than a few bruises.

"You don't have to tell me." Rose said softly. He let his head go and turned to her then, she reached forward and pushed a stray lock out of his eyes gently.

Sirius caught her wrist.

"I want to. I need to tell someone, it might as well be you." He said lowering her wrist but catching her hand.

"Alright." Rose nodded, "What started it?"

"I had packed up everything. It was just a feeling, but that night before dinner I packed as much of my room into my trunk as I could and then headed to dinner. I began like all the rest, you know, Regulus is doing fantastically with his good pure blood friends. Why can't you be more like him?" Sirius whipped his nose on the back of his hand.

Rose nodded sympathetically,

"Then I made a, what I thought playful, jibe about his role as the Seeker for the house and Reg laughed. They didn't. Said that I should try to get on the team because at least then I would have something to distinguish myself from the filth that I surround myself with, said that the next thing I would be doing is cavorting with Werewolves, Goblins and other such lesser creatures. I snapped, said; why would it be so bad if I did?" Sirius leant back on the sofa still keeping a hold of Rose's left hand. "It escalated from there, next thing I know my mum is flinging curses while I'm running out the door my case flying after me."

Rose couldn't imagine a fight so bad that it broke her family like that. This must have been building for years.

"When I went back on the 29th for my other things Reg and my father were out at a family visit but I thought my mother was going with them, she came back early and you saw the result of that."

"You are lucky to have gotten out when you did." Rose whispered. She looked into the dying embers of the fire and bit back tears.

"Oh yeah, I am so lucky to be disinherited from my family without even so much as a goodbye to the only member that I actually liked." Sirius shot back, his tone held no malice in it but it stung all the same.

"Think of it that you are free now." Rose said comfortingly, "Who are they going to write to about your detentions? Your mother? I would like to see that."

"Probably James' mum." Sirius answered sadly.

Rose was running out of options, he was usually the one that cheered her up.

"Well, if you really want then I could be your family." She squeezed his hand in what she hoped was a supportive gesture.

He looked at her then, his head tilting to the right to take her in, in the partial moonlight.

"Now I can't promise you I will be any good. Marlene told me today that if she had to describe me she would say that I was Pastel Pink made into a person so, if you want I can try. But I can't make any promises as to how good I will be."

"Will you always be there? Person to turn to when Prongs and Lilly finally shack up?" Sirius asked,

"Yes, I'll be your safety net." Rose said with a tight smile. Sirius slowly leant towards her coming to a stop with his head resting partially on her upper breast and partially on her shoulder.

Rose slung her arms around him and held his teenage body to her tightly.

"I've got you. There are two of us now." She whispered. Sirius just sniffed in response.

True to form Rose's parents sent the first of their care packages on the fourteenth of September. It was as it always was a large basket filled with perfume, sweets, cakes, fiction books, hair care products as well as extra parchment and quills.

"Blimey, how much do your parents put in these things?" Marlene asked shocked at the contents the Tuesday morning that it arrived. Rose just smiled and made a pile of duplicates and things she thought Sirius would like.

Interestingly he had stuck to their agreement to treat each other like family, should she express a dislike of someone or if they were annoying her she would vent her feelings to Sirius and then the next day they would become the target of a prank or two.

In return Rose had taken to slightly mothering him, asking if he had enough quills and parchment, if he had done his homework and reminding him of his detentions that she kept a track of in her planner.

"Not that much." Rose said to Marlene taking back the bottle of sleakeasy's hair potion that she did not need but they always put in, in case she needed to lend some out.

"Who's all that for?" Lilly asked as she watched Rose take some of the pink lining and enchant it to perfectly wrap all of the bottles and sweets.

"Not for you." Rose replied sweetly. She scooped up her treasures and quickly ran off back to the common room leaving her friends behind to wonder.

Rose hated that Sirius didn't get anything anymore so she had asked her mother in her most recent letter to send a little more in the care package. Her mother hadn't questioned it but had just done as she asked.

She stashed the basket under her bed in the dorms and thinking that everyone was at breakfast stole over to the boy's dorms.

Sirius was late. It was the second week back and he was late. The boys had tried to wake him up but he just wasn't feeling it. So now here he was his shirt buttoned up wrong as he tried to pull his braces up over his shirt, his toothbrush hanging from his mouth while he tried to pull his jumper over his head all at once.

"Oh." He heard a squeak.

"What now Pete? I already told you I was running late." Sirius tried to say around his foamy toothbrush.

"I'm not Peter. I'll come back later." Rose.

Sirius threw the jumper off his head to his bed and seized the brush from his mouth.

"Wait."

Rose froze, her back was to him and slowly turned back to face him. She was holding a little cloth wrapped parcel in both of her hands, it was tied at the top with a scrap of white lace.

"What's that?" He demanded gesturing with his brush to the pink bundle in her hands.

She smiled and held it out.

"Family care package." She announced.

Sirius smirked, threw his tooth brush back in his mouth and stepped forward taking it from her hands.

She clucked her tongue at him and reached for his buttons sorting him out as he opened the parcel.

Chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts Beans, Feature sweets, hair potion and anti-burn cream.

"All this for me?" Sirius asked cockily watching her fix his disordered buttons.

"Well, you are now family, so yes." Rose said blushing refusing to look into his eyes.

"Thank you." He said emotion colouring his voice.

"Oh hush," Rose said briskly, "Hurry up now or you really will be late, it's nearly nine as it is."

"Oh yea, we have Augustine first don't we. Your favourite." He japed. Rose pursed her lips and stood back from him.

"Yes, and I have no desire to have a repeat of his and my first encounter." She said picking up Sirius' robes.

He followed her hopping as he put his shoes on and then his jumper. He followed her out into the corridor as he slung his tie round his neck.

"Mr Black." Professor McGonagall greeted the pair. "Miss Merrick."

"Minny!" Sirius replied brightly,

Rose sucked in her lips to avoid smiling.

"Why are you half dressed in the corridor?" she glanced at her watch, "At five to nine."

"Well you see Professor, I overslept and as Rosemary has so wonderfully taken to calling me family she came to shivy me along, you know?" Sirius explained with his typical shit eating grin.

"I see. Well, you had best hurry along now then." McGonagall pursed her lips, her eyes bright with mirth.

Rose grinned at her and took hold of her friends elbow before he could say anything else and dragged them off to the appropriate class room.

"Non-verbal spells." Augustine announced when everyone had taken their seats.

"Today, you will be completing Non-verbal spells. This is important because… Mr Potter?"

"If you are in the heat of battle to announce your spell is a bad tactical decision." James answered his tone said he was bored but his eyes said otherwise.

Rose steeled herself, this was going to be interesting.

"This is bad because… Black?" Augustine gestured to Sirius near to the front. Sirius looked back to Rose and Remus and winked.

"Because it would give the other party time to prepare a counter." He said his head lolling back, "But Sir?"

Augustine paused, his mouth open to continue his speech. He returned his gaze to Sirius.

"Yes?"

"What if your opponent is a legimens? Then the element of surprise would be lost." Sirius said, rocking back in his chair,

"And?" Augustine prompted not knowing yet that Sirius was attempting to achieve the thing that all sixteen year olds do when they are in a lesson that they do not particularly want to learn anything in, distract the teacher enough that they begin to talk about their personal lives and then sit back and relax as you learn absolutely nothing.

Remus breathed a laugh into his fist where it rested against his smirking mouth while he watched.

"Well, have you ever battled a legimens, sir?" He prompted.

Augustine fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.

"Yes I have actually, during the height of Grindlewald when I was fresh to the office. I was caught in a dual; I believe it was in Berlin." And off he went filling the hour with old war stories about catching dark wizards and keeping the populous free from dangerous things.


End file.
